Economy Adds 288,000 June Jobs

Small Business Added 117,000 Jobs

A government labor report this morning showed the U.S. economy added 288,000 jobs in June, dropping the unemployment rate to 6.1% - its lowest level since September of 2008. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised upward job gains for April (to 304,000) and May (224,000), bringing the three-month growth average to 272,000 positions.

Yesterday, payroll services firms ADP reported private sector companies in the U.S. added 281,000 jobs last month, a significant gain that also soared past estimates. The closely-watched data showed job improvements across a variety of sectors, strengthening hopes of better economics results in Q2 and beyond.

“The job market is steadily improving,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which teams with ADP to produce the report. “Judging from the job market, the economic recovery remains fully intact and is gaining momentum.”